Sacramento State 7, Nevada 3
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Reno, Nev. - Don Weir Field at Peccole Park
WP: Cooper Rons (4-2)
LP: Casey Burfield (2-1)
SV: Kade Brown (5)
RENO, Nev. - Sacramento State scored three times over the final two innings, breaking open a one-run game and defeating Nevada, 7-3, Tuesday night at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park.
Bryce Matthews scored on a wild pitch with two outs in the seventh, cutting Sacramento State's lead to 4-3. With
Justin Acal on third as the tying run, the Wolf Pack could not pull even, as Hornets reliever Kade Brown struck out
Jake Harvey to end the threat.
Sacramento State (13-17) quickly put two on with singles off of Nevada reliever
Zach Garber in the top of the eighth. Garber struck out Gunner Gouldsmith and reliever
Dominic Desch set JP Smith down, and Nevada was poised to escape the jam until Cesar Valero's line drive to right just cleared the outstretched glove of
Nolan Wilson, plating Tyler While and Matt Masciangelo to make it a 6-3 game.
Masciangelo added a sacrifice fly in the ninth for an insurance run, and Brown worked a scoreless ninth for his fifth save of the season.
Both starters pitched well in limited outings for the midweek meeting, as
Easton Marks allowed just one unearned run and struck out four over three innings, and the Hornets' Ian Winterhalder allowed just two runs on three hits over four innings.
Nevada tied things up at 1-1 in the third on
Justin Acal's solo homer, then took a 2-1 lead in the fourth as
Taylor Holder's sacrifice fly brought in
JR Freethy.
Sacramento State took the lead for good in the fifth against
Casey Burfield. With one out and the bases loaded, Jorge Bojorquez lined a single up the middle that plated Smith and Valero.
Bojorquez drove in three runs on a 2-for-3 night, as the Hornets had 12 hits on the night. Four Sacramento State pitchers combined to hold the Wolf Pack (12-13) to six hits.
Burfield suffered his first loss of the season, falling to 2-1, giving up two runs in his only inning of work.
Nevada returns to Mountain West action this weekend, heading to the San Joaquin Valley to face Fresno State in a three-game series beginning Friday.
